By Steve Duncan
(Excerpt from 'Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers', edited by Sherry Ellis & Laurie Lamson)
A film, by its very nature, is a visual art form. However, I’ve found that new screenwriters tend to forget that they’ve ever seen a film in their lives. Too often, inexperienced writers go right for wall-to-wall yakking when writing a scene or sequence for a movie. While verbal dialogue drives television scenes, you want to write dramatically effective cinematic scenes for a feature film.
An effective approach is to use The Seven Elements of a Scene or Sequence. Use them when you rough out scenes, but especially during the rewriting process. I’m often surprised that some writers do not know the definition of a scene or a sequence. In screenwriting, this is important to know because, unlike novels or short stories, your scenes ultimately will appear on film, translated by a director and production crew.
This process begins with the writer properly formatting the page with scene headings that describe whether it takes place interior or exterior, the specific location, and the time of day. A scene takes place in a single location. A sequence is a series of scenes that tell a short story within the context of the larger story.
A protagonist. Who has the “most dramatic need” in the scene? In other words, what does this character want in the scene.
An antagonist. Who opposes the dramatic need in the scene? Ironically, this has the same meaning as the protagonist’s—what does this character want in the scene? They should oppose in order to create conflict. If each wants the same thing, then they must disagree on how to get it. Otherwise, your scene will bore the reader (and ultimately, the viewer).
Pivotal character(s). Who is for or against the protagonist and/or the antagonist in a scene? These characters have two purposes in a scene: keep the protagonist and antagonist engaged in conflict and/or provide a different point of view about the problem in the scene.
Dialogue. How do the characters communicate with each other: through the spoken word, non-verbally (through actions, reactions or pure silence) or both? For example, a character can say “I love you,” then turn her back and, by her expression, reveal to the audience that she’s lying.
Intentions. Why is each character in the scene? Actors call it “motivation.” This is the driving force behind creating conflict in a scene.
Subtext. What emotions bubble underneath the scene? What is the scene really about? This element gets its cue from the theme of the screen story.
Context. How does the scene relate to what came before it and what comes after it? This element gives the writer the ability to give the same scene intense suspense or create comedic tone without even rewriting it.
While these seven elements may appear simplistic, the viability of a screenplay depends on writing entertaining scenes and this approach can be an effective method to practice and improve the style and content of your screenplay.
Start with a single sentence idea. Here are some I’ve used to inspire scenes:
'A couple finds an old pair of wingtip shoes in an attic.'
'A family pet gives his/her owner a piece of his/her mind.'
'Infidelity in a marriage'
'Face to face with an alien being'
'A husband of 20 years is a serial killer'
'Love at first sight'
The goal is improve your ability to write cinematic scenes and sequences. Pick one idea (or make up your own) and write it in three different ways:
The first approach is using only spoken dialogue. Keep it short, around two to three pages.
Next, write the same scene using only actions and non-verbal dialogue. You need to translate the spoken words to recognizable visual actions and reactions.
Finally, rewrite the same scene focusing on improving the visuals, but this time write a single line of dialogue to capture the subtext (theme) of the scene.
You can take this exercise to an advanced level by writing a six to eight page sequence based on the same idea. Each scene should use the seven elements and the overall sequence should use the seven elements. First, try it using only the spoken dialogue, then using a single theme-defining line of dialogue, and finally write a sequence combining spoken and non-spoken dialogue with visual action.
At the end of this process, your ability to combine both visual and auditory elements to create dramatically effective scenes should improve significantly.
Steve Duncan is a Professor of Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University. A current member of WGA West and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, his production credits include Co-creator and Executive Consultant of the CBS-TV Emmy-winning series Tour of Duty, Writer-Producer of the ABC-TV series A Man Called Hawk, and Co-writer of the Emmy-nominated TNT film The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson. He’s the author of A Guide to Screenwriting Success: How to Write for Film and Television (Rowman-Littlefield 2006) and Genre Screenwriting: How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell (Continuum Books 2008). He’s a contributing author to The Handbook of .. |
Margins
Stage direction and shot headings (also known as slug lines) have a margin of 1.7' of the left and 1.1' on the right. TWO BLANK LINES PRECEDE EACH SHOT HEADING.Dialog has a left margin of 2.7' and a right margin of 2.4'.
Character names over dialog (speaker) have a left margin of 4.1'.
Parenthetical direction within dialog has a left margin of 3.4' and a right margin of 3.1'.
Scenes transitions such as CUT TO: and FADE OUT. have a left margin of 6.0'.
Scene/shot numbers: When a script is numbered in preproduction, the left number is placed 1.0' from the left edge of the page and the right scene number is placed 7.4' from the left edge of the page.
Top page margin is .5' (or three single lines) before the page number. A single blank line separates the page number from the body of the script, which begins with either a CONTINUED: or a new shot heading/slug line.
Bottom page margin is at least .5' (or three single lines) following the (CONTINUED) or the end of a scene.
Total page length is a maximum of 60 lines, including page number and CONTINUEDs (but not including the 3 line margins at the top and bottom of the page).
Paper size is 8.5' wide by 11' long.
Font
Use 12-point Courier (not Courier New) or Prestige Pica. These are fixed-pitch fonts that yield ten (10) characters per horizontal inch and six (6) lines per vertical inch.
Use of 'CONTINUED'
When a shot or scene continues from one page to the next, (CONTINUED) must be added at the bottom of the page where the break occurs, preceded by a single blank line. CONTINUED: is then added at the top of the next page, followed by a single blank line.
Breaking stage direction
When stage direction (also known as action) is broken at the bottom of a page, break it only at the end of a complete sentence. CONTINUEDs must be added as explained above.
Breaking dialog
When a character's speech is broken at the bottom of a page, break it only at the end of a complete sentence. Add (MORE) 4.1' from the left page edge at the bottom of the page where the break occurs, directly beneath the dialog (in other words, no blank line separates the (MORE) from the dialog) On the following page put (CONT'D) after the character name and on the same line as the name.Also, when breaking speeches, do not place parenthetical character direction before the (MORE). Place the parenthetical direction with the remainder of the speech on the next page.
For Example:
End Example (from Good Will Hunting)
Formatting parenthetical characterdirection Epson adjustment program free.
'Parenthetical character direction' is specific business relating only to the speaking character. Parenthetical character direction is placed in parens, on a separate line from dialogue.If the direction goes more than four lines, place it at the left margin as regular direction, using a colon (:) to indicate it goes with the character's next speech.
Incorrect
CorrectIf CAMERA MOVEMENTS or SOUNDS (which should be capped) appear in parenthetical character direction, they should be 'pulled out' and treated as regular direction:
Incorrect
CorrectDo not put another character's direction in the speaking character's dialogue. It MUST go at the left margin.
Incorrect
Correct
Formatting dialogue
Words are never broken by a hyphen at the end of a line of dialogue unless it's a naturally hyphenated word, such as twenty-three, point-blank, etc.
Formatting shot headings
All shot headings are placed on a line by themselves with two blank lines above and one blank line below. This includes any so-called 'hidden' shots which may be imbedded in descriptive passages.An example of a hidden shot follows:
Incorrect
CorrectAdditional examples of 'hidden' shots include insert shots, close shots, wide shots, and any other specific shot called for within direction. All of these must be pulled out onto a line of their own.
A shot heading can never stand alone at the bottom of a page without at least one complete sentence of direction of dialogue -- unless there is no direction or dialogue to go with it, such as an INSERT SHOT or an ESTABLISHING SHOT.
Scene transitions
Scene transitions such as CUT TO: and DISSOLVE TO: are entirely optional, but when used should be preceded by one blank line and followed by two blank lines. When breaking pages, the scene transition must remain with the shot just completed. In other words, it is never permissible to start a new page with a CUT TO: or a DISSOLVE TO:. It must be placed at the bottom of the previous page.
Other Notes (by Dana)
The first time a character is introduced in the stage direction of a script, his/her/its name should be written in all caps. If the name is mentioned again, it may appear as normal.Character names over dialog are always in all CAPS.
Capitalize major sound effects.
Try to avoid using the word 'camera.' Use 'we' instead. (Instead of 'The camera follows..' use 'We follow..')
For example, if the following is the opening scene of a movie:
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